GRANTHAM, Pa. – The No. 25 Messiah Women's Lacrosse team hosted the Pride of Widener University on Wednesday, April 2 on the Lacrosse Turf at the Witmer Family Lacrosse Stadium on the campus of Messiah University. Hayley Lettinga led the Falcons with three goals and one assist while Hannah Gawne and Jordan Lewicki each netted a pair. Grace Hejeebu made five saves in goal and Emma Hagg had three caused turnovers.

The Falcons return to action on Saturday, April 5, when they host Hood College at 1:00 p.m. on the Lacrosse Turf at the Witmer Family Lacrosse Stadium.

First Quarter
Emma Hagg won the opening draw control for the Falcons and Alina Bernal-Clark fired a shot of the post. Hannah Gawne collected the ground ball and Grace Pettitt found Annalise Keitel for a Messiah goal at 13:46. Just over a minute later, the Falcons took a 2-0 lead with a free position goal from Hannah Gawne. On the next possession, Widener earned a free position attempt of their own and notched their first goal of the game. Katie Bukiewicz earned the draw control and a shot from Jordan Lewicki missed just wide. With nine minutes remaining in the opening quarter, the Pride fired a shot on goal that was saved by Grace Hejeebu. The Pride recovered the ground ball and scored their second goal to bring the score to 2-2 with 8:34 remaining. After earning a free position attempt, Hayley Lettinga fired a free position shot off the post. Jordan Lewicki recovered the ground ball before Annalise Keitel found Dani Sauder for a goal. Bukiewicz earned the draw control and the Falcons executed their offense well as Jordan Lewicki found the back of the net with 6:05 remaining to take a 4-2 lead. With 3:02 remaining, the Pride found the back of the net to bring the score to 4-3 in favor of the Falcons. Bukiewicz fired a shot off the post as the Falcons last shot of the first quarter.

Second Quarter
Hayley Lettinga fired the first shot of the second quarter, having her shot blocked at 12:09. After a failed clear for Widener, Lettinga picked up a ground ball and Annalise Keitel missed a shot just high. After some back-and-forth play, Katie Bukiewicz fired a free position shot on goal that was saved by the Widener goalie. The Pride scored two goals in just over a minute to take a 5-4 lead, causing a Messiah timeout. Emma Hagg won the draw control and Jordan Lewicki fired a shot off the crossbar. A free position shot from Jordan Lewicki missed high before Brynn Johnsen missed a shot wide. The Pride missed two shots before Hannah Gawne found Hayley Lettinga with 1:27 remaining in the half to tie the score at 5-5. With nine seconds remaining in the first half., the Pride notched a girl to take a 6-5 lead heading into the break.

Third Quarter
The Falcons and Pride played back-and-forth in the opening minutes of the second half. The Pride had the first shot attempt at 12:23 and Grace Hejeebu made the save in goal. Hannah Gawne was able to fire a shot on goal, but the Widener goalie made the save. The Falcons earned a free position attempt and the shot from Bukiewicz was saved. Bukiewicz secured the ground ball and Hayley Lettinga fired a shot on goal that was saved. The Falcons fired another shot that missed wide with 8:22 remaining. With just under six minutes remaining in the quarter, Hayley Lettinga found the back of the net on a free position shot to tie the score 6-6. Widener gained possession before turning over the ball which gave Messiah the opportunity to take a 7-6 lead with a goal from Jordan Lewicki with 3:24 remaining. With two minutes remaining on the clock, Hayley Lettinga notched a free position goal for the Falcons. Emma Hagg won the draw control and Katie Bukiewicz made the score 9-6 with one quarter of play remaining.

Fourth Quarter
Widener started the final quarter with a goal one minute in to cut the deficit to two. A free position attempt for Messiah resulted in a goal for Hannah Gawne to bring the lead back to three. The next 11 minutes were played back-and-forth with the Falcons firing two shots and the Pride firing four shots with Grace Hejeebu earning three saves. On the last save, Katie Bukiewicz secured the ground ball, and the Falcons successfully cleared to their offensive end. Hayley Lettinga found Alina Bernal-Clark with 38 seconds remaining in the game to bring the score to 11-7 for the Falcons win.

Stats
Hayley Lettinga led the Falcons with three goals and one assist while Hannah Gawne and Jordan Lewicki each netted a pair. Grace Hejeebu made five saves in goal and Emma Hagg had three caused turnovers. Hagg led all players with six draw controls and three caused turnovers while Katie Bukiewicz added five draw controls and three ground balls.

Up Next
The Falcons return to action on Saturday, April 5, when they host Hood College at 1:00 p.m. on the Lacrosse Turf at the Witmer Family Lacrosse Stadium.